Characterization

Characterization How a writer can create a character, and how we can work to understand that creation

Centrality of characters • Characters are essential to a narrative • Together with plot, they are one of the two most important elements • Some narratives value one of these over the other • If we don’t care (at least a little) about characters, we won’t care about the story.

Learning about a character • Everything comes from the text itself and from our knowledge of life in general • That general knowledge of life must nonetheless be applied in a way that is consistent with the text • We can’t say that a character must be brave because he’s a Scottish soldier if the story shows or tells us that he was cowardly

Ways of creating a character • Here are ten methods that the writer can use to inform us about the traits, beliefs, values, actions, effects, and more of a character • They don’t all need to be used in one work, but all of them can be.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION • looks suggest character: e.g.: a completely nondescript look may imply that one is dull, bland; an exotic look will usually indicate an exotic character

MENTAL DESCRIPTION • a character’s state of mind and thoughts are very important, revealing the inner truth that might not be revealed in any direct actions; a character may think (or fear or feel) things that never show up obviously in his or her behavior

NARRATOR’S OBSERVATIONS • the narrator can provide fundamentally important judgments or generalizations about a character, telling us directly any number of things about a character’s life, history, ambitions, strengths and weaknesses, and so on

CHARACTER’S WORDS • a character’s words can reveal much about what he or she finds important and how he or she relates to other characters; language and word-choice are often revealing

CHARACTER’S ACTIONS • what a character does reveals a great deal, as do the character’s choices; a character who talks tough but acts sheepishly exposes his or her basic hypocrisy—or at least an essential weakness

MOTIVATIONS AND DESIRES • why a character acts in a certain way is often as revealing as the action itself (or more so): one might do a good thing for a bad reason

COMMENTS BY OTHERS • these comments reveal how the character is perceived in his or her social context; if enemies praise a character, he or she must be very special; if others simply ignore a character, he or she may well be socially insignificant

REACTIONS OF OTHERS • like their words, the behaviors of characters towards another create our sense of who he or she is; others may flock around a morally good character--or may shun the good one if they themselves are bad; they may ignore or sneer at a contemptible character

PARALLELS AND CONTRASTS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS • comparisons help us make sense of a character; cowards in a narrative will make a brave character seem all the more noble; comparing someone to a well-known character from another work will be revealing; e.g.: a reference to Uriah Heep suggests an unctuous hypocrite

SYMBOLS OR IMAGES LINKED TO THE CHARACTER • almost anything linked to a character may add to the reader’s sense of who and what the character is: gestures, items of clothing, settings, descriptive words, symbolic images, and so on help develop a character; e.g.: repeatedly associating a character with fire

Putting all these together • You can’t put all these pieces together until you have finished the book. But you can pay attention to them as you read • Be aware that characters can be quite complex • They can have all sorts of internal contradictions • The less certain they are about something, the more varied will be the signals they send

ALERT! ALERT! • Good characters are frequently multilayered and complicated. Trying to understand them with just a few words can lead to misunderstanding. • Even if they’re not particularly complex, keep in mind that they often contain seemingly contradictory elements

Contradictory elements • For example: a character who is very considerate on some occasions and quite insensitive on others • one who wants to do something and doesn’t want to do it—both, very much • one who is despondent at some times and celebratory at others

Depth of characterization • A character can be as simple as this: “The man with the perpetual scowl.” And a character can be as complex and mysterious as Hamlet or Iago or Achilles.

The big three to watch for • Choices • What options did the character have and which did he or she select? • Motivations • What is the character trying to achieve with a particular action? • Changes • How (and why) does a character change during the course of the story

What makes a good character? • is complicated enough to be interesting • is internally consistent; plausible • provides us with a reason(s) to care about what happens to him or her • lacks aesthetically offensive qualities

The End

Characterization